This invention relates to a method and apparatus for pulling hides from animal carcasses. In particular, it relates to a type of hide pulling machine known in the industry as a "sidepuller" because it pulls the hide from the sides of suspended carcasses of beef or other livestock animals.
It has been customary in the beef industry to perform a substantial amount of manual skinning in the belly area in preparation for a sidepulling operation. Such manual skinning, performed with conventional and power knives, was considered to be necessary due to the tenacity of to the hide to the carcass adjacent to the abdominal opening, and to provide a flap which was sufficientlY long to reach laterally outwardly to a position where it could be engaged by the jaws of the grippers of the sidepuller machine.
The present invention is concerned with a method and apparatus which reduces the extent of manual skinning required prior to the operation of the sidepuller machine. This is possible due to the way in which the pulling means of the machine is supported and moved when the hide is being pulled from the sides of the carcass. As a result of the present invention, the manual labor required in the skinning operation is substantially reduced, and the amount of skinning performed by the sidepuller machine is increased, thus adding to the efficiency of the operation of the facility where the method and apparatus are used.